Since I am a pastor and currently leading a congregation for the past year I have some observations that I want to share with you.

Pastors have a very important calling on this earth. Frankly, it’s greater than any other calling on this earth. President Trump’s position seems very important to the world, but its really peanuts compared to serving in the office of a Pastor. Pastor’s are given the awesome and humbling responsibility to affect people’s lives in their local community first and to see individuals become more like Jesus. This is an endeavor that takes time, caring and persistence, it doesn’t happen over night.

In America we have a quick and fast pace society with instant and quick everything.

My observation is that some Pastors have taken on that microwave fast pace spirit in America and try to run their church that way.

They get people in the building quickly. They time out the service to end exactly at a certain time. They make sure they don’t go over a half hour of preaching so they don’t offend people. If the presence of the Holy Spirit is wanting to do more in their service to conform people to the image of Jesus, He is simply cut off because they have to keep their agenda.

I was in a large church on a Sunday morning before we launched our church. I was with my wife in service and felt God’s presence during worship, it’s an awesome feeling that I never want to go away and highly respect! I felt He wanted to continue but the leader on the stage stopped the praise and worship to go on to the next item on the agenda.

I am only saying this because my heart was seriously grieved when it happened and I was saying in my spirit, what is going on!

Pastors have to decide are they trying to conform people to their image, or are they working to conform people to be more like Jesus. If it’s to their image then they need to take the name “church” off the marquee out in front of their church and put their own name on it.

I also noticed there is a deliberate effort to skirt around and literally stay away from hot button issues of our day. Such as abortion, gay (so called) marriage, fornication, men’s roles and women’s roles biblically and the list goes on.

When we as the church of the living God don’t speak out in the market place it ultimately weakens our society and the church becomes irrelevant, and folks that’s exactly what’s happening.

In 2013 regular church attendance in America had dropped to 39% according to Gallup research. I have also heard that it’s really in the 20% range from another source which seems more realistic. When you don’t shine as salt and light in the community then people lose interest and fall away.

Scripture says it this way:

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.

14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. Matthew 5:13 – 16 (NLT)

Pastors, we must get back to our main purpose which is making people more like Jesus and truly feeding the people of God. We must forget about the opinions of the world because they don’t really matter in the end. If we do this faithfully churches will once again be meaningful and strong in our society.

Church growth will increase the right way not a man-made manufactured way!